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Post by skyeknight on May 16, 2017 14:44:55 GMT
Axel wasn't worried.
He kept telling himself that as he cleaned the glasses only half a mind on the task, his eyes fully on the door. Anna hadn't come back to the bar after they had dinner together. She never missed a Friday. Granted, last week was the first time she ever missed. His hostesses were all taking bets whether he would throw down the towel and head to the police department to see Anna himself. They thought they were being sneaky when they were making their wagers. His resolve was firm, he was not going to chase after the woman. She knew where to find him. Besides, a demon raiding the police department to find one person would not go over well, no matter what light it was painted in. It was a quick way to get an emerald bullet to the head.
He was twitchy and agitated. But Anna had to come to him, he told himself firmly. Perhaps she had finally wised up to what he was and decided that it was better (and safer) for her not to be involved with his sort. If that were the case, there was no one to blame but himself for letting her get so close. He knew he was better off going at it alone. Except in the week she had missed, he wasn't making drinks with the same 'flare' or enjoying his job as much. It was hard to believe, but he actually looked forward to when she came to the bar. She was bright, funny and said what was on her mind every single time.
He was worried. |
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 18, 2017 2:53:41 GMT
Suddenly, the door of the bar opened and Anna stepped inside, wearing a pair of light blue skinny jeans with ankle wedges and a flared jade-green halter top, her hair done up in a French braid.
Despite looking a bit tired, she seemed her usual self and as soon as her blue eyes landed on Axel behind the bar, she smiled widely and waved at him. Making her way between several occupied tables, she took her customary seat on the bar stool set right in front of the bartender.
"Hi Axel, how goes things? Still living the dream?"
She grinned at the young Demon, her playful greeting the same as always. However, after taking a moment to look at his face her own smile fell ever so slightly.
"Hey Axel, you ok? You look kinda tense."
By this point she had placed her purse on the table between them, this one shaped like a bright sunflower in full bloom.
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Post by skyeknight on May 18, 2017 17:55:28 GMT
And like that, she was back. He managed to twitch a light smile. He also let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. It was silly that just seeing her made him feel like he could breathe again. But he had started to grow concerned when she missed her last Friday. Because she was as predictable as clockwork. She was always there by a certain time and always in that seat. With whatever drink struck her fancy for the night. Occasionally, Pascal would be there and Axel had started to keep cherries (not soaked in alcohol) for the little guy.
"You just missed rush," he dismissed, "That's all."
The lie came easily. He had always been good at lying. Might have been a demon-y thing to be able to do it without a twitch of a guilty conscience. He didn't particularly like to think about it much. He put aside the glass and the rag. His hands were starting to feel too warm anyways. He needed a moment to just take a deep breath.
"Been a while. Started to think you got bored," he said casually.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 19, 2017 10:13:34 GMT
Anna's face quickly cleared of any concern at Axel's words, completely buying his lie. After all, she had no reason to think that his anxiousness had to do with her not showing up last week.
"Oh good!"
She smiled and rolled her eyes when Axel jokingly said he thought she had grown bored with him.
"Me? Get bored with you? No way! Where else am I gonna get all the unique cocktails I want along with an endless supply of free cherries for Pascal?"
The little chameleon was in absence that night. Anna he left him back at the apartment, snoozing under his heating lap. Like her, Pascal was tired. Her pet always stayed up waiting for her to come home from work and with all the extra time she was spending at the BPD labs, the reptile wasn't getting much sleep.
"Speaking of drinks, why don't you give me another one of your surprises tonight?"
Anna said this while stifling a yawn behind her hand. All the extra hours she was spending down in the labs of the BPD were even starting to effect someone with as much energy as her. After all, she couldn't just work on the experiment whenever she wanted. She had to wait until the BPD was almost completely empty, making sure no one stumbled across her experiment. She'd already had that happen and while Dorian and Weiss had agreed to keep her experiment a secret, she didn't feel like trying for a third time.
The long hours. The stress. The secrecy. It all took its toll on the young woman but she knew it would be worth it in the end. In fact, despite the fatigue she was extremely pleased as she sat on the bar stool. She had managed to take another important step in finishing her work on the serum she was creating. Just that evening she had finally found a chemical combination that would keep several key enzymes in humans from denaturing when injected with Other DNA.
Close. Yes, she was getting so close.
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Post by skyeknight on May 22, 2017 3:20:30 GMT
"For all I knew you could have found another bar."
Another more interesting - more human bar with a human bartender to talk to and flirt with. He didn't like thinking that way. Unfortunately it was a possibility. He could offer Anna nothing in return to make her stay. He was after all a demon. A dangerous one at that. His drinks could probably be made by any number of bartenders without the flaming side effects of his anger.
He raised a brow when she gave a big yawn. That was unlike her. Normally she was peppy and perky. Now she just seemed to go through the motions with no energy behind it. What could have happened in two weeks' time to change her this drastically?
"How about a coffee?" He offered. "You look tired."
Probably not what she wanted to hear but he was nothing if not honest.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 22, 2017 5:32:01 GMT
"Coffee?"
Anna blinked at Axel for a moment before realizing she must have looked as tired as she felt. She was a bit surprised by the concerned look he had on his face when he spoke and didn't quite understand why this made her feel warmer than normal.
"Sure... sure. I'll take an Irish coffee tonight."
She gave a smile at the bartender, managing to only just fight off another yawn that was threatening. She really was quite exhausted but hopefully the coffee would help and she could at least talk to Axel for a bit. She had already missed him last week and she didn't want to have come into the bar only to fall asleep at the counter.
"Guess I must not look so good if you could tell I was tired. Things have just been really, REALLY busy for me lately at the BPD. All in a good way, of course!"
At these words, a bit of her peppy attitude returned even if it was far more subdued than usual. And the smile on her face was as genuine as always.
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Post by skyeknight on May 23, 2017 1:38:09 GMT
Axel's lips pressed into a thin line. He didn't necessarily approve in this situation, but he had to remind herself, that she was the customer. She was right, even if he didn't think she was. He fished out the heavy whipping cream, brown sugar, and whiskey. Then he turned on his heel to put on a fresh pot of coffee. He came back to the table, mixing the remaining ingredients as he waited for the coffee to steep. Once the machine beeped, signalling it's end, he brought the coffee back.
"An Irish coffee." he said.
He mixed the coffee with the whiskey concoction before he set the drink down in front of Anna. She would probably notice if he tried to water the drink down or make it more parts coffee than it was part whiskey. She looked like she had been running herself into the ground. But no one really wanted to hear that they looked like shit. So he didn't say it. She put on another smile, this one more relaxed than the last, less forced and less sleepy.
"Well, busy at work is good. Over time and all that." he said.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 23, 2017 18:54:53 GMT
"Oh, I'm not getting paid for this."
Anna made the comment like it was no big deal at all, forgetting how it would sound to someone who didn't have all the facts about what she was doing in the first place. Normally she was very careful when discussing anything that might lead to some difficult questions about her experiment, but her fatigue was making her more reckless.
That and she honestly believed that Axel wouldn't care. He was such a laid-back person and had always been supportive of what she was doing. He might not know it, but she saw him as probably the closest friend she had outside of the BPD and felt that he wouldn't judge her for what she was trying to do. Her fellow BPD coworkers might overreact, but she felt certain Axel would support her.
She took the Irish coffee with a smile at the bartender before sipping at it. The taste of whiskey blended well with the coffee so that neither was overpowering and they both complimented each other.
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Post by skyeknight on May 23, 2017 19:13:58 GMT
"Geeze, that really sucks!" Axel hissed.
It was her job. She liked her job. But if they weren't paying for her time, then they didn't value her as an employee, in Axel's opinion. It also cut into the time she had to visit the bar, not that he cared at all, because he didn't. Though his internal argument was starting to sound rather forced on that topic. He was worried about her. Anna's health was important. Even if it was just her getting a few more hours of sleep and not looking like a ghoul sitting at his bar.
"What in the Hell is so important they're eating your personal time?" he asked.
It couldn't be any big case. Those were typically televised. There also weren't strange bodies turning up in the streets, because Axel was honestly the first to know when a bad thing happened in a bad neighborhood, even though his bar wasn't in a bad neighborhood. His workers were from some of the worst neighborhoods. His bar was their step up and out of the slums before they moved on, got better jobs, better homes.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 23, 2017 19:43:14 GMT
"Hmmm?"
Anna had been sipping at the whipped cream that topped her drink and looked up when Axel spoke. Her expression was slightly confused by his response and there was the smallest bit of whipped cream on the tip of her nose. However, after a moment she seemed to make sense of his reaction and gave a small laugh before wiping off the cream on her nose with a napkin.
"Oh, no no no! Sorry, I should have clarified. I'm not getting paid because I'm using the labs on my own personal time! It's not for a BPD case or project but for....something else."
Here she grew uncharacteristically quiet, the look in her eyes making it clear that the 'something else' was serious. Very serious.
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Post by skyeknight on May 23, 2017 20:47:02 GMT
"Something else?"
He had been loading the dishwasher when she grew quiet. The way she trailed off unsettled him. It simply wasn't like her. He wasn't exactly the closest with her. He knew her well enough to be able to say that this was odd behavior, even for her. But lots of things she had done that night weren't like her. She missed her usual routine. She was tired as all get out. She was working herself to the bone on a personal project in the lab? What could be so important that she spend even more time there? He got it, helping people was important to her but if she was working in the morgue why did it have to be a personal project?
"Is... everything okay?" he asked.
He set the work he was about to take up to look at her. He couldn't keep the concern from his eyes. As a pessimist his mind naturally jumped to the worst conclusions, but maybe it was just spring cleaning on the lab for all he knew. |
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 24, 2017 3:01:51 GMT
"Yes."
Anna answered Axel's question as honestly as she could, but she kept her eyes downcast and focused on her Irish coffee as she slowly stirred the contents with a straw. She watched the last of the whip cream slowly melt into the surface of the coffee, turning it into a milky brown. She was debating something silently and intensely in that moment, trying to decide if she should tell Axel or just stay quiet.
Oh, come on Anna! Axel's your friend. He's always supported the stuff you've done up to now and there's no reason he shouldn't do the same here. Heck, he'll probably see just how much good the serum you're making will do for Bellerouge and everyone in it if you just tell him! He's bound to be impressed.
The thought passed across her mind and, in truth, Anna really truly wanted to share her secret with someone. Someone who she felt really close to. Dorian and Weiss were good to keep quiet on it, but it wasn't the same as confiding in a friend. She wanted someone to know of the triumphs she was making and the good her project would lead to. And Axel was that friend.
Finally, she looked up into Axel's face, blue eyes into green before glancing around briefly. She then spoke in a low voice so that only he could hear and no one else in the bar.
"Can I tell you something, Axel? Only it's a secret and you can't tell anyone else. And I mean anyone."
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Post by skyeknight on May 24, 2017 15:24:30 GMT
"I promise I won't tell anyone."
The words fell from his lips faster than he would have liked. He hadn't even given them a second thought. It certainly wasn't like a demon of all creatures to give his word and actually mean it. He leaned in once she started speaking softly. He looked her over, trying to discern something in those baby blue eyes. Did she owe someone money? Was it one of her eccentric birthday surprises? But why would she mention that? He didn't know the same people as she did. It wouldn't matter who he told if it was one of her surprises. Quitting her job? Going back to school? Moving out of the city? He had to wait for her to tell him, perhaps that was why he promised so quickly.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Secrets didn't suit Anna. She had been such an open book at dinner and when he mixed her drinks. She was quite amiable. No one in the bar could compare to her. Perhaps she knew this. Axel didn't want anything happening to a sweet girl like her. It's why he took personal offense when those drunkards tried to take advantage of her and why he had been so pleased when he found all of them arrested the next morning.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on May 25, 2017 10:50:20 GMT
Axel agreed far more quickly then she had expected and that made her feel more comfortable about telling him her secret. She had been looking around the bar to make sure no one else would overhear, but everyone seemed preoccupied with what they were doing and no one was within earshot.
She let her gaze return to Axel and took in a deep breath for several seconds before slowly letting it out. And then, she told him.
"The reason I've been so busy in the BPD labs is because I'm creating something that will change everything. I'm on the path to making a serum that will allow humans to have Other abilities!"
As she said this, the color rose in her cheeks as excitement coursed through her body. What little energy she had had a moment before seemed to amplify at her words, causing her to actually shake with anticipation. Her eyes show brightly and never before had she been so driven. Her passion on this project was so strong that she began to speak nonstop, the manic energy never leaving her.
"See, I came across some old notes about how to create the most powerful being, a homunculus with the abilities of different Others! But the equations were never finished in the notes but all the math and calculations in it were sound. And it got me to thinking what with the prison riot and all the people getting hurt in the city lately and humans like me not really about to do much about it, what, just what if humans could be giving a specific power or trait from an Other and use that to help keep the city and everybody in it safe or even fix and heal the damage that was done! It would be amazing and wonderful and I realized looking at those notes that if I just tweaked them a bit, changed some of the math around that I could do it! Like actually do it!"
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Post by skyeknight on May 25, 2017 13:34:30 GMT
Luckily Axel hadn't been holding anything breakable. Or flammable. He could have blown up the entire bar with how angry her little revelation made him. A serum to give humans Other abilities. Talk about a bad idea. In a city where there were human purists who hated Others entirely, including gifted humans. She might as well as paint a target on herself and wait for one of those crazy people to show up and off her. It was probably one of the worst ideas that he had heard in a long time and that included drunken ramblings from some of his other patrons. She might have made him promise not to tell anyone, but he was not going to agree with what she was doing especially since it was stupid and reckless. She was smarter than this but tunnel vision was stopping her from seeing this from both sides.
"What are you thinking?" he hissed. "You can't go around playing with shit like that just because you feel like it. This is fucking Sapien all over again."
He kept his voice down, like she had asked, but his anger and disapproval was obvious. Her intentions might have been pure. She wanted to use it to help people. But someone always found a way to take a good idea and use it to hurt someone. Someone would take her noble idea and twist it. Then she would get blamed as the creator for her serum. Sapien could have come to the streets as something good. A way to get rid of dangerous powers. Things that were out of control, even for the host itself. Instead, it became a punishment for Others and had less than ethical origins.
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